In a previous article where we detailed Jane Iwamura’s Oriental Monk figure, we touched on her work Virtual Orientalism. We’ll detail her core premise in this article.
Essentially, Iwamura describes how Western media has simplified and “made palatable” complex Eastern spiritual religions, practices, and groups into highly idealized and simplified symbols.
She notes that “contemporary media” and digital environments (social media, etc.) continue to perpetuate these stereotypical depictions of Asian cultures and individuals.
As a material example: many Western influencers, websites, movies, and apps bundle complex spiritual Eastern practices like yoga, meditation, and feng shui as commoditized representations that are disconnected from their cultural and historical roots.
Iwamura thus presents her core question in Virtual Orientalism as whether these portrayals are reflective of the depth of the cultures and practices they represents, or are instead a convenient, consumable version, and what the harm of that norm may be. I will leave the answer to that question up to you!
Hope that answers your question! Check out my full Religion 101 article list (useful for studying, or just learning!) here.
